The renewal of Max Verstappen with Red Bull, with the extension to 2030 of the contract that would have expired at the end of 2028, has inevitably shaken the F1 paddock. In these lines we try to outline the winners and losers of this agreement that puts an end to months of speculation and rumors.
Who wins
Laurent Mekies: The French manager is certainly the main winner of this agreement. A year ago he found himself having to manage overnight a Red Bull orphaned of all the historic figures, full of internal crises and on the verge of implosion. In just over 12 months he came close with Verstappen to a sensational world championship comeback, faced all the vicissitudes and problems caused by the new technical regulations – with the not insignificant detail of having to manage the debut of the first power unit entirely made in Red Bull – and throughout this he had his superstar who threw tantrums every week in front of journalists. At one point the break with Verstappen seemed inevitable. Instead, Mekies not only managed to convince Max not to retire and not to be seduced by other teams, but even persuaded him to renew until the end of 2030. Of course, as soon as things start to go wrong, clauses, paragraphs and various options could resurface, but for now what is recorded is the possibility for the Red Bull team to continue building its future around the strongest driver in the world. These days, that is not little.
Stefano Domenicali: There was a moment when the possibility of seeing a 2027 F1 without Verstappen, maybe even with the Dutchman engaged full or part-time in another championship, seemed concrete. It would have been a huge image damage for the Circus and its owner, Stefano Domenicali. For this reason, the fact that Max renewed even until 2030 represents a great victory for the current management of Formula 1. Domenicali’s is a political victory over the detractors of this regulation: Verstappen’s threats of departure – remember the “I’m not having fun, it feels like a Formula E on steroids” – did not materialize and therefore, implicitly, Domenicali can claim the success of his F1. It is not said that this is good news, on the contrary, but things are like this.
Max Verstappen (?): And the person directly involved? Surely he must have had his good reasons to stay in the team with which he built his legend and won four World Championships, so it is impossible not to count him among the winners. The question mark concerns what kind of contract the #3 from Hasselt signed: there is no doubt that there was a substantial salary adjustment, but what about exit clauses? From a sporting point of view, the big question is this: Verstappen trusted Red Bull, will Red Bull now allow him to fight for the World Championship again? Or would it have been better to wait, maybe take a break and try the adventure in another team? The answer to this question we will start to have in about a year, halfway through the 2027 season, and it will be provided by the World Championship standings.
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Who loses
Ferrari: Certainly, Ferrari had renewed Leclerc before Monte-Carlo and Hamilton’s resurgence made both red seats locked for 2027. But it is not heresy to think that in Maranello they were making some considerations about Verstappen for post-2027, in case the Dutchman took a sabbatical year or stayed at Red Bull until the expiry of the previous contract, which ended at the end of 2028. This further extension of the agreement instead makes an arrival of the orange champion on the red planet increasingly unlikely. And if the World Championship title does not arrive in the coming years, the grumbles for not having properly courted the best driver on the grid could grow.
McLaren: A very similar story applies to McLaren. Andrea Stella can say that to see Max in papaya a third car would have been needed, but it is impossible to believe that in Woking they did not think of reforming the Lambiase-Verstappen pair with the British team’s colors. Instead, at this point the inseparable duo will find themselves fighting on opposite sides in the coming years. And if sooner or later the Norris-Piastri line-up should explode, problems could begin for Zak Brown and Andrea Stella.
The critics of the 2026 regulation: Verstappen with his constant and sharp attacks on the new technical regulation had become the champion of those who contest this F1 and its management. His possible stop, maybe motivated precisely by a loss of interest in the category, would have represented a great weapon for those who contest Domenicali’s F1 to say “see, we told you so”. Evidently, however, Verstappen is not yet ready to give up the Circus, despite all the distortions that currently characterize it.
Read more Verstappen-Red Bull, it’s a renewal! Max extends until 2030
